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Firle Church of England Primary School

Primary · Lewes · BN8 6LF

Data updated

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Requires improvement

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: Requires improvementSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 8 July 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

53 pupils · 50% of 105 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary controlled school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
20.8% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
0% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
24.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.firleschool.co.uk/
URN
114525

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 5 families named it first for 5 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. We hold 10 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2017 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 8 July 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Requires improvement. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

5 places offered · 5 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

How safe is a place here? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

7 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
14%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
102
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
100
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school14%
Median of its 12 closest peers57%
East Sussex average60.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Ramshaw Primary SchoolBishop Auckland · 272 miles awayGood64%
St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolBucknell · 167 miles awayGood67%
Shobdon Primary SchoolLeominster · 160 miles awayGood50%
Beckley Church of England Primary SchoolRye · 26 miles awayGood50%
Halwin SchoolHelston · 238 miles awayNeeds attention86%
Aldeburgh Primary SchoolAldeburgh · 111 miles awayGood64%
St Ann's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademySheffield · 195 miles awayGood50%
Egloskerry Primary SchoolLaunceston · 198 miles awayGood91%
Colkirk Church of England Primary AcademyFakenham · 139 miles awayGood50%
Fourlanesend Community Primary SchoolTorpoint · 191 miles awayGood45%
St Andrew's Church of England Primary SchoolSherborne · 116 miles awayNeeds attention31%
Landewednack Community Primary SchoolHelston · 240 miles awayStrong standard71%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 81% (East Sussex 81%, England 60%) · Any other White background 11% (East Sussex 5%, England 7%) · Any other Black background 6% (East Sussex 0%, England 1%) · White Gypsy/Roma 2% (East Sussex 0%, England 0%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
17.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

3.70 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · East Sussex: 2.91 suspensions and 0.08 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
13.2
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

83.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 12.7 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £53,699; 16.7% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£11,250
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 78% (76%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 3% (4%) · bought-in professional services 4% (3%) · catering 3% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £64,996; in-year balance -£2,748

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher28.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19%18.1%
In managerial or professional work27.1%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways22.8%18.1%
Residents in very good health44.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier37.5%62.3%
Social housing28.2%17.1%
Privately rented34.3%20.5%
Detached houses15.4%22.9%
Flats17.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms12.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van20.9%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01021057 · how to read area figures

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
0a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
1a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
0a rural school averages 0.9

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools